6 Weeks Ectomorph Training

If you are a hardgainer or a skinny guy looking to start your ectomorph training, or if your gym results have hit a plateau, check out this 6 weeks workout routine/workout for mass program by acclaimed fitness instructor Vince Del Monte.

For your convenience, I have summarized the main points of this video’s training routine below:

26 Comments

Thanks for sharing this with us Wayne. I had a question regarding the workout plan though. Almost everywhere I read about workouts for ectomorphs, they said reps should be between 2-8 for maximum muscle growth. If that’s the case, then why are the first two weeks focusing on such high reps? Hope you can help me out on this, thanks! :)

Good question there.The reps are set out this way because of Vince’s belief in the undulating periodization philosophy of training.Also also known as Variable Rep Training, undulating periodization is based on a very unique way of structuring the set, rep and rest protocols.

Typically, the body adapts to the rep range the quickest, and the exercise selection the slowest. Hence, the point of undulating periodization is to change the rep range to inject variety into your workout and keep your muscles working.

Anyway, would like to point out that 5-8 reps is the best for maximum muscle growth. Anything below 5 is more for absolute strength training or absolute myofibrilar hypertrophy – it will improve your absolute strength and nervous system firing efficiency but will do little to build muscles.

Hope that answers your questions! :) Feel free to air any more doubts you have!

Is this workout do your whole body? I kinda don’t understand why 5 sets of 5 reps only in the last 2 weeks. I mean like your reply to Karim in the comment section, you said it will “improve your absolute strength and nervous system….but will do little to build muscles”.

you don’t have to do all these exercises in one day. It is just a list all the exercises Vince recommends.

You could probably split the exercises into mon – chest, shoulders, triceps, wed – legs, fri – back and biceps.

For the 5×5 routine, it’s because this program is based on undulating periodization. Programs that utilize periodization approach progressive overload in a different way.

The emphasis of this program is not to merely achieve straightforward gains after every workout but rather on the cumulative gains after all phases. The basic idea is to change intensity and volume levels to prevent overtraining.

-> So reps are changed (also because the body adapts to them the fastest).

Hey Wayne, how much weight and when should you increase it? Like after every set you should go up 5 lbs, then then next week start off 10 lbs heavier then what you started the last week and increase by 5 lbs again?

Im still a bit confused with the groups. I understand the need to workout certain muscle groups on a particular day. However I am so ignorant with the exercises that I dont know which groups are being exercised. True newbie :) Where can I find this stuff out?

hi wayne, I was just wondering, do you do all of this in supersets?for example doing deadlifts,immediately followed by db bench press then 30 seconds rest. because in the video vince mentions supersetting

Hey Wayne,I am a pure beginner and wanted to try this 6 week training to see how it goes. I was wondering… what would be the routine for the 6 week training? What specific exercises do I do each week? Do I do all those 10?

What order do you do these exercises in? For example do you do 3 sets of deadlifts and then 3 sets of Dumbbell flat bench chest press and so on OR do do you one set of each exercise and then repeat the circuit?

Holy hell, man! It’s good, that I found these comments! Cause I’ve been doing ALL these 10 exercises through my workout. I did it twice – monday and wednesday and I thought that I was gonna die :) I totally misunderstood Vince lol Now I understand, that I need to divide exercises on different muscle groops! 10 exercises per workout, 3 sets of 15 reps of each exercise – I’m glad that I survived this haha))